Saint Petronius ( it, San Petronio) (died ca. 450 AD) was bishop of Bologna during the fifth century. He is a

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the city. Born of a noble

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

family, he became a convert to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and subsequently a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

. As bishop of Bologna, he built the Church of Santo Stefano.

Life

The only certain historical information we possess concerning him is derived from a letter written by Bishop

Eucherius of Lyon Eucherius (c. 380c. 449) was a high-born and high-ranking ecclesiastic in the Christian church in Roman Gaul. He is remembered for his letters advocating extreme self-abnegation. From 439, he served as Archbishop of Lyon, and Henry Wace ranked h ...

(died 450–455) to Valerianus, and from Gennadius' ''De viris illustribus''.Kirsch, Johann Peter. "St. Petronius." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 18 November 2021 Eucherius writes that the holy Bishop Petronius was then renowned in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

for his virtues. From Gennadius we receive more detailed information: Petronius belonged to a noble family whose members occupied high positions at the imperial Court at

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and in the provincial administrations at the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth centuries. His father (also named Petronius) was probably ''praefectus praetorio'', since a Petronius filled this office in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

in 402–408. The treatise ''De ordinatione episcopi'', bearing the name of Petronius as author, is by the elder Petronius, who was a man of eloquence. Eucherius seems to suggest that the future bishop also held an important

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

position. Even in his youth Petronius devoted himself to the practices of

asceticism Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

, and seems to have visited the Holy Places in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, perhaps on a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

.Butler. "Saint Petronius, Bishop of Bologna, Confessor". ''Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints''
1866. CatholicSaints.Info. 13 August 2018 About 432 he was elected and consecrated Bishop of Bologna, where he erected a church to

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

(Santo Stefano), the building scheme of which was in imitation of the shrines on Golgotha and over the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. He also built the church of Santa Lucia, and the original church of Santi Bartolomeo e Gaetano. Petronius is believed to have written a work on the life of the Egyptian monks (''Vitæ patrum Ægypti monachorum''); the author of this work, however, is

Rufinus of Aquileia Tyrannius Rufinus, also called Rufinus of Aquileia (''Rufinus Aquileiensis'') or Rufinus of Concordia (344/345–411), anglicized as Tyrann Rufine, was a monk, historian, and theologian. He is best known as a translator of Greek patristic materi ...

. Morin has published a sermon entitled "In die ordinationis vel Natale episcopi" (Revue bénédictine, 1897, 3 sq.), which Gennadius ascribes to Bishop Petronius of Verona, whom Czalpa holds is Petronius of Bologna, but this assignment is not certain. According to Gennadius, Petronius died during the reign of Emperor

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''Augustus (title), augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after ...

and

Valentinian III Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying ...

, i. e., before 450.

Veneration

In the twelfth century appeared a legendary life of the saint, whose

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

were discovered in 1141. Shortly afterwards a church was erected in his honour at Bologna; a second,

San Petronio Basilica The Basilica of San Petronio is a minor basilica and church of the Archdiocese of Bologna located in Bologna, Emilia Romagna, northern Italy. It dominates Piazza Maggiore. The basilica is dedicated to the patron saint of the city, Saint Petronius ...

, planned on a large seal, was begun in 1390. In 2000, his relics were moved from Santo Stefano to the Basilica of San Petronio. The feast of St. Petronius is celebrated on 4 October. In

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

, he is depicted as a bishop holding a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

of Bologna in his hand. Image:Autori vari, arca di san domenico, protettori di bologna, 02 petronio di michelangelo, 1494, 2.jpg,

Basilica of San Domenico The Basilica of San Domenico is one of the major churches in Bologna, Italy. The remains of Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers ( Dominicans), are buried inside the exquisite shrine Arca di San Domenico, made by Nicola Pisano and hi ...

, in Bologna, contains a statue of St Petronius by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

Image:Bologna-statua di san petronio a natale.jpg, Statue of St Petronius in

Piazza di Porta Ravegnana The Piazza di Porta Ravegnana (originally Porta Ravennate) is a city square in the central of Bologna, region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The Piazza, located some four blocks east of the Piazza Maggiore and Cathedral of Bologna, is the site of the ...

Image:Bologna italy basilica di San Petronio.jpg, San Petronio Basilica image:Francesco del Cossa San Petronio particolare.JPG, Francesco del Cossa, St Petronius (detail) ''Pala dei Mercanti''

References

Sources

*Ferguson, George (1961). ''Signs and Symbols in Christian Art'' New York: Oxford University Press, 1961, p. 139. * *Filippini, F. (1948). ''S. Petronio vescovo di Bologna. Storia e leggenda''. Bologna 1948. *Lanzoni, Francesco (1832). ed. G. Cantagalli. ''Cronotassi dei vescovi di Bologna dai primordi alla fine del secolo XIII''. Bologna 1932, pp. 30–33. *Mathisen, Ralph W. (1981), "Petronius, Hilarius and Valerianus: Prosopographical Notes on the Conversion of the Roman Aristocracy," ''Historia. Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'' Band 30 (1981), pp. 106–112. *Paolini, Lorenzo (2015)
"Petronio, santo".
''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' Volume 82 (2015) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Petronius, Saint 450 deaths Converts to Christianity from pagan religions Italian saints Bishops of Bologna 5th-century Italian bishops 5th-century Christian saints Petronii Year of birth unknown